“I think that you have so many great songs and so many great messages but it’s the heart that you put into every performance and the soul that you put into those songs that make them so impactful,” Fischer told Brooks.

He brought the singer to tears when he told him “The River” has been his personal anthem for the last three decades.

“So thank you from the bottom of my heart for being such an inspiration to so many and making those words count,” Fischer said.

Brooks also had high praise for Whitson, 57, who owns the record for most total days in space by any NASA astronaut.

Astronaut Jack Fischer brought the singer to tears when he told him &ldquo;The River&rdquo; has been his personal anthem for the last three decades.